Soto, Reds Defense Shut Out Phillies 2-0

May 08, 1985|by TED MEIXELL, The Morning Call

Phillies last night and then decided discretion was the batter part of valor.

Soto suggested to Cincinnati manager Pete Rose (that sounds funny, doesn't it?) that going to the bullpen might not be a bad idea. Rose did, and lefty John Franco and righthander Ted Power finished off a five-hit 2-0 shutout victory over the home nine.

But, while the official scorer gave the mandatory save to Power, it's a shame the rules didn't permit him to assign another to young and oft-maligned third baseman Nick Esasky.

Nick Esasky? Yup. His sixth-inning grand larceny job on a potential game- turning smash by Mike Schmidt was the individual effort upon which the game turned.

Here's the scenario. Phils' starter Kevin Gross was pitching extremely well himself. But the Reds chipped away at him for single tallies in the fourth and fifth to seal his doom - and Esasky was right in the middle of that, too.

He led off the fourth with a line single to left, stole second and scored easily when Ron Oester tripled to the right-field corner. In the fifth, Eddie Milner singled and also stole second. Luis Aguayo fielded Rose's sharp one- hopper and tried unsuccessfully to nab Milner going back to second, and both runners advanced when Dave Parker grounded out to second.

The Phils elected to pitch to Cesar Cedeno rather than walking him to get at Esasky - and Cedeno singled to right to plate Milner. Rose, by the way, challenged Glenn Wilson's arm and tried to score as well, but Willie nailed him with a one-hop bullet.

The Phils posed a two-on, one-out threat in the fifth, but Soto wriggled out of that one pretty much on his own. But he sure needed help to escape the mess that confronted him in the sixth.

Walks to Juan Samuel (and a steal of second) and Von Hayes got it started. Soto then battled with Schmidt to a 2-2 count, but Schmitty blistered a bullet down the line past third that was ticketed for the leftfield corner. One run was a certainty, two a distinct possibility.

But Esasky dove to his right and intercepted its flight on one hop. And, although he wasn't able to retire anyone, he sure did save Soto's skin. Duly grateful, Soto got a force at home on Samuel when Tim Corcoran slapped a one- hopper to Rose and whiffed the frustrated Wilson.

"That was the whole game right there," Soto admitted. "If Nick doesn't get that one, they tie the game right there." Then, with a smile, he added, "And I'm pretty sure the next guy (Corcoran) would've hit me, too.

"Hey, I don't lie to you guys. In a situation like that, when you've pitched pretty good for five innings and then walk a couple guys, if they tie it up . . . well, the next guy usually gets you, too."

"It was a great play," Rose said. "We might still be out there playing if he doesn't make it. Nick's getting better and better. He's got great reflexes, and he's playing with more and more confidence. He's got unlimited ability."

Esasky aw shucksed, "I knew in that situation, if anything was hit my way I had to try and make some kind of a play on it. The big thing was to not let it get through for a double. I knew Schmitty usually pulls the ball, so I was ready to make the dive. Fortunately, I got it."

Fortunately.

Or, if you're in the other dugout, unfortunately.

Felske addressed the matter from the standpoint of a guy who'd just watched another excellent pitching performance by his guys go to waste. (Charles Hudson and Dave Rucker extended the Phillie bullpen's string of consecutive batters retired to 35 before Rucker issued a harmless two-out walk to Oester in the ninth.)

"Our pitching was great, just great," he said."It was the same thing tonight as it's been lately: we just can't get the big clutch hit when we need it. But you better give Esasky credit for some of that. Thatplay took away at least one run, and we'd probably have wound up with second and third and one out."

Soto revealed that, far from being upset at being taken out, he'd actually suggested it to Mr. Rose.

"You always want to finish if you can," he said. "But you've also got to have confidence in your bullpen. In this situation, I'd already thrown more than 120 pitches, and I threw a lot in my last outing. I was in a lot of trouble three straight innings, and I was struggling."

Indeed he was. In the seventh, for example, he coughed up a leadoff double to Ozzie Virgil that missed clearing the wall in left-center by about a foot. But he got Aguayo on a fly to right and struck out pinch hitter Darren Daulton before walking Samuel. After completing the escape by getting Jeff Stone on a fly to left, he decided he'd had enough.

So had the Phils. Unfortunately for them, John Franco and Ted Power were also on top of their games.